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The Court's Holdings in Abbott V and VI
In Abbott V, supra , 153 N.J . at 508, the Court ordered that the Commissioner of Education "exercise his power under N.J.S.A.  18A:7F-6(b) and -16 to require all Abbott districts to provide half-day pre-school for three- and four-year olds."Further, the Court stated, "The Court authorizes the Commissioner to require the Abbott schools to implement these programs as expeditiously as possible."The Court added:
[T]he Commissioner must ensure that such programs are adequately funded and assist the schools in meeting the need for transportation and other services, support, and resources related to such programs. The Commissioner may authorize cooperation with or the use of existing early childhood and day-care programs in the community. If any Abbott schools are able to obtain the space, supplies, teaching faculty, staff, and means of transportation that are necessary to implement these programs for the 1998-1999 school year, they should be supplied with the necessary funding to enable them to do so. The Commissioner shall ensure that all other Abbott schools shall have the resources and additional funds that are necessary to implement pre-school education by the commencement of the 1999-2000 school year.
In Abbott VI , in response to the ELC's petition in support of litigants' rights, the Supreme Court reviewed the actions of the DOE in regards to the Court's Abbott V  mandate pertaining to early childhood education. The Court considered the petitioners' allegation that the "State has gravely defaulted on its commitment" to implement "well- planned, high quality preschool education for all Abbott children."163 N.J. at 104. The Court, while concluding that the Commissioner had not "backed away from his efforts to reform education in the Abbott districts," and rejecting allegations that the Commissioner had acted in bad faith, 163 N.J . at 100, nevertheless
  1. Held that "[s]ubstantive educational guidance for all Abbott district preschool programs is an essential component of DOE's commitment to the

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